Cabinet with retractable door



United States Patent inventor Paul C. Mallonn Wooster, Ohio Appl. No.769,780

Filed Oct. 23, 1968 Patented Nov. 10, 1970 Assignee Rubbermaidincorporated Wooster, Ohio a corporation of Ohio CABINET WITHRETRACTABLE DOOR 9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

Int. Cl A47b 88/00 Field of Search 312/246,

Primary Examiner Dennis L. Taylor Attorney-Hamilton, Cook, Renner &Kenner ABSTRACT: A storage cabinet preferably of plastic materialadapted to mount on the underside of a wall cabinet and having a frontdoor which slides downwardly to open and retracts under the cabinet, thedoor having spaced side cam pins slidable in separate tracks on the sidewalls of the cabinet to guide the door, and interengaging flange meanson said cam pins and said tracks to hold the door in closed and openpositions.

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Patented Nov. 10, 1970 I I 3,539,239-

INVENTOR. PAUL C. MALLONN ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 10, 1970 SheetIIINVENTOR. PAUL c. MALLONN ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 10, 1970 I 3,539,239

Sheet f of4 FIG. 6

- INVENTOR. PAUL C. MALLONN BY L M bn kw ATTORNEYS CABINET WITIIRETRACTABLE DOOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Certain prior cabinetconstructions have had pullout drawers with guide rollers mounting thedrawer in the side walls of the cabinet, and when a drawer is pulled outaccess to its contents is had only from the top. This is particularlydisadvantageous where the drawer is mounted above eye level as it wouldbe if mounted on the underside of a kitchen wall cabinet above acounter.

A conventional cabinet having a hinged front door, if mounted on theunderside of a kitchen wall cabinet, requires space in front of thecabinet to swing the door open, and the open door is always in the wayand presents a hazard if left I SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention comprises an improved cabinet of molded plastic materialhaving a rear wall, bottom wall and sidewalls adapted for attachment tothe underside of a kitchen wall cabinet, said sidewalls having separatetracks for slidably mounting cam pins on the sides of a front door toguide it downwardly and under the cabinet, the pins cooperating with thetracks to support the door in closed and retracted posi tions.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improvedcabinet with a retractable door which is adapted for mounting on theunderside ofa kitchen wall cabinet.

Another object is to provide an improved cabinet with a retractable doorwhich is easy to operate, economical to construct and install, andsturdy and stable in all positions.

A further object is to provide an improved cabinet with a retractabledoor adapted to be entirely out of the way when left in open position. 4

These and other objects are attained by the improved cabinetconstruction shown and described herein, modifications and variations indetails of construction being within the scope of the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS I open and retracted position.

FIG. 5 is a partial plan sectional view on line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a transverse vertical sectional view, partly broken away, online 6-6 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 7-7 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The cabinet indicated as a wholeat 10 in FIG. 1 has molded plastic sidewalls 11 and a rear wall 12 andbottom wall 13 preferably integral therewith. The plastic material maybe medium impact polystyrene or other suitable material. The

top front ends of the sidewalls 11 are preferably held in proper spacedrelation by a spacer bar 14 which may be of the same material andextends between the sidewalls with its ends abutting shoulders IS on thesidewalls (FIG. 2). The shoulders 15 are formed by recesses I6 in thefront ends of the inturned flanges 17 at the tops of the sidewalls. Therear wall 12 has an outturned top flange I8 which is a continuation ofthe flanges 17.

Preferably, the sidewalls II each have a series of internal verticalreinforcing ribs 19 depending from the flanges I7 intermediate theirends, said ribs being connected at their lower ends by a.horizontal rib20. Two closely spaced ribs 19' pro vide a channel into which a T-nut 22may be inserted from the lower end, the T-flange abutting the lowerhorizontal rib 20. Long bolts 23 are inserted through holes in thebottom wall 24 of a kitchen cabinet K and through aligned holes in thetop flanges l7, and are screwed through the nuts 22 for supporting thesidewalls of the cabinet on the underside of the kitchen cabinet.Vertical guard flanges 25 are provided on the sidewalls 11 below thehorizontal flanges 20 for straddling the lower end portions of the bolts23. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the bottom wall 13 preferably has bothlongitudinal external ribs 26 and transverse external ribs 27 forreinforcing the bottom.

Two rubber friction pads 28 are provided on the top surfaces of the endsof the spacer bar 14 for abutting the under surface of the kitchencabinet K at the front edge 29 for maintaining alignment therewith. Atthe rear ends of the top flanges I7 leveling screws 30 abut theunderside of the kitchen cabinet K and are threaded through T-nuts 31 inflanges 17 to keep the cabinet I0 in level horizontal position.

The door indicated as a'whole at 33 preferably has a normally verticalupper front panel 34 with horizontal and vertical peripheral flanges 35and 36, respectively, and an intermediate horizontal flange 37. Anoffset rearwardly inclined lower door panel 38 is connected to thebottom of panel 34 and an upwardly extending finger hold recess 39having an upper wall 39' is provided between panels 34 and 38 mediallyof the sides of the door. In the closed position of FIG. 3 the upperedge portion of panel 34 overlaps the front downturned flange 40 onspacer bar 14 forming the top of the front opening into cabinet 10, andthe bottom edge portion of panel 38 overlaps the front edge of thecabinet bottom wall 13 forming the bottom edge of the cabinet opening.As seen in FIG. 3, the lower portions of the front edges of sidewalls IIare rearwardly inclined to conform to the lower door panel 38. The sideedges of the door overlap the sides of the cabinet opening defined byinturned vertical upper flanges 42 connecting with inturned downwardlyinclined lower flanges 43 on the front edges of the side walls 11.

Extending rearwardly from the upper door panel 34 are two substantiallyrectangular side wing flanges 44 positioned to pass within and adjacentto the sides of the cabinet opening defined by the front flanges 42 and43. In the closed position of the door the upper edges 45 of the wingsare within the cabinet opening below transverse flange 40, and the loweredges 46 extend rearwardly from the lower part of panel 34 where it isconnected by flange 39 to the lower panel. A trans verse rearwardlyextending reinforcing flange 47 on the door panel 34 connects the upperedges of the wings 44. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 the bottom wall 13 ofthe cabinet is provided with forwardly open slots 48 extendingrearwardly from the front side flanges 43, to receive the wing flanges44 when the door is retracted.

The cam pins for movably mounting the door project laterally outwardlyfrom the inner corners of the wing flanges 44. The upper cam pins 50 arecylindrical while the lower can pins SI are flattened on the bottom andrear sides to form depending lips 52 at their rear edges for a purposeto be described.

The tracks for the pins 50 are formed by spaced-apart interior flangesor ribs 53a and 53b on the sidewalls 11. The ribs 53a and 53b extenddownwardly from the top flanges 17 first in a rearwardly inclineddirection and then in a forwardly curving direction The change ofdirection in the forward ribs 53a is marked by a sharp point 54, againstwhich the upper pins 50 abut to hold the door in closed position asshown in FIG. 3. The lower ends of ribs 53a merge with lower frontflanges 43, and the lower ends of ribs 53b terminate in horizontalflanges 55 which connect with flanges 43 to close the tracks and formstops for the pins 50 in the retracted position of FIG. 4.

The tracks for the lower pins 51 are formed by two downwardly andrearwardly curved space-apart flanges or ribs 560 and 56b on theinterior surfaces of the sidewalls II. These tracks may be open at thetop and rear ends as shown. In the closed position of the door, theupper ends of track flanges 56h are positioned to engage the bottoms ofpins 51 against the front of the lips 52 so as to support the weight ofthe door and at the same time hold the lower panel 38 thereof inwardlyin the fully closed position. In the retracted position the curvedsurfaces of pins SI rest on the rear ends of flanges 56a, as seen inFIG. 4.

When it is desired to move the door from the position of FIG. 4 to theclosed position of FIG. 3, the door is grasped at the upper peripheralflange 35 and lifted until the inner transverse flange 47 abuts thetransverse flange 40, as shown in the phantom position of the door inFIG. 4. In this position the lips 52 are raised above the upper ends oftrack flanges 56b, and by pressing slightly inwardly on the door andreleasing it, the door will assume the position of FIG. 3.

To open the door, it is lifted slightly and rocked forwardly by graspingthe finger hold 39 so as to prevent binding, until the lips 52 ride overthe upper ends of flanges 56b, whereupon it will swing freely by gravityto the open position of FIG. 4.

The improved cabinet with the retractable door is economical toconstruct and is quickly installed on the underside of conventionalkitchen wall cabinets. It is easily operated and retracts to aconvenient out-of-the-way position when opened.

lclaim:

I. A storage cabinet having a rear wall. a bottom wall, and sidewallsconnected to said rear and bottom walls and forming an open front end tosaid cabinet, a door for closing said front end having side wingsextending into said open front end adjacent the interior surfaces ofsaid sidewalls, a pair of spaced laterally projecting cam pins on eachside wing, and separate track flanges on the interior of each sidewallfor slidably receiving the cam pins to guide the door from closedposition to an open retracted position under said bottom wall, saidbottom wall having slots receiving said side wings in the open retractedposition ofsaid door.

2. A storage cabinet as defined in claim 1, in which flange means areprovided on said tracks to support said door in closed and openpositions.

3. A storage cabinet as defined in claim 2, in which one track flange oneach sidewall engages one of the pins on the adjacent wing to hold thedoor inwardly in its closed position, and a flange at the lower end ofsaid track engages said pin to support the door in open retractedposition.

4. A storage cabinet as defined in claim 2, in which one track flange oneach sidewall engages one of the pins on the adjacent wing tosupport thedoor in closed position.

5. A storage cabinet as defined in claim 2. in which one track flange oneach side wall engages one of the pins on the adjacent wing to hold thedoor inwardly in its closed position and a flange on the lower endofsaid track engages said pin to support the door in open retractedposition, and a flange on the other track on each sidewall engages theother pin on the adjacent wing to support the door in closed position.

6. A storage cabinet having a rear wall, a bottom wall, and sidewallsconnected to said rear and bottom walls and forming an open front end tosaid cabinet, a door for closing said front end having side wingsextending into said open front end adjacent the interior surfaces ofsaid side walls, a pair of spaced laterally projecting cam pins on eachside wing, and separate track flanges on the interior of each sidewallfor slidably receiving the cam pins to guide the door from closedposition to an open retracted position under said bottom wall, saidtrack having flange means to support said door in closed and openpositions,.one track flange on each sidewall engaging one of the pins onthe adjacent wing to support the door in closed position, said pinengaged by the tract flange to support the door in closed positionhaving a lip engaging behind the end of said track to hold the doorinwardly in its closed position.

7. A storage cabinet as defined in claim 1, in which each pair of spacedcam pins comprises an upper and a lower pin, and the track for receivingthe upper pin has a flange portion for engaging said pin to hold thedoor inwardly in its closed position and has a flange at its lower endfor engaging said pin to support the door in its open retractedposition.

8. A storage cabinet as defined in claim 1, in which each pair of spacedcam pins comprises an upper and a lower pin, and the track for receivingthe lower pin has an upper end flange for engaging said pin to supportthe door in its closed position.

9. A storage cabinet as defined in claim I, in which each pair of spacedcam pins comprises an upper and a lower pin, and the track for receivingthe upper pin has a flange portion for engaging said pin to hold thedoor inwardly in its closed position and has a flange at its lower endfor engaging the pin to support the door in its open retracted position,and the track for receiving the lower pin has an upper end flange forengaging said lower pin to support the door in its closed position.

